Temporary or semi-permanent support surfaces have been used for roadways, remote jobsites, industrial staging areas and the like in an ever-increasing myriad of industries, such as the construction, military, oilfield, transportation, disaster response, utilities and entertainment industries. These support surfaces are often made up of multiple components, such as heavy duty mats, which are reusable and interlock together to form the support surface.
In many instances, gaps are formed between the interconnected components of the support surface. Liquid that is spilled or otherwise introduced onto the support surface may seep through these gaps and into the earth or subgrade terrain. This presents various potential problems, including environmental and safety concerns and waste disposal challenges, and can lead to significant expense and effort for remediation, delay of operations, additional manpower and equipment for cleanup, etc.
For example, in many instances, plastic liners are placed below and around the support surface in an effort to capture liquids that are spilled or otherwise introduced onto the support surface before such liquids encounter the subgrade terrain. The use of liners with temporary or semi-permanent support surfaces may have one or more disadvantages. For example, discarding the liners can sometimes be problematic because landfill operators have expressed disinterest in accepting used liners on the basis that they are bulky and require excessive landfill space, or for other reasons. For another example, the plastic liners are sometimes ineffective at preventing liquid leakage from the support surface or allowing effective clean-up, which can cause other problems and require significant time and effort.
Thus, there is a need for improved apparatus, systems and methods for preventing liquids spilled or otherwise introduced onto a load-supporting surface from leaking through gaps formed between adjacent mats or other components.
It should be understood that the above-described features, capabilities and disadvantages are provided for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope or subject matter of the appended claims or those of any related patent application or patent. Thus, none of the appended claims or claims of any related application or patent should be limited by the above discussion or construed to address, include or exclude each or any of the above-cited features, capabilities or disadvantages merely because of the mention thereof herein. For example, the above discussion involving the potentially disadvantageous use of “liners” should not be construed to mean that liners cannot be used with any one or more of the features or embodiments of the present disclosure discussed below or shown in the appended drawings (e.g. seal member 10), unless and only to the extent as may be explicitly provided in a particular claim and only with respect to such claim and any claims depending therefrom.
Accordingly, there exists a need for improved systems, articles and methods useful in connection with containing liquids introduced onto a load-supporting surface having one or more of the attributes or capabilities described or shown in, or as may be apparent from, the other portions of this patent.